Directing can be a lonely gig.

 

Collaboration is fast-paced and exciting. We are making! Together! In this room! Or that meeting! For the audience! And yet, despite the hustle and bustle of people, inspiration, and ideas, a director’s job - prepping for rehearsals, crafting the right questions to bring out the best in a scene, or making decisions sometimes long before other collaborators or actors join me in the room -  can feel isolating.

 

At least….I thought I felt isolated. Until now. In quarantine.

 

Directing in quarantine, away from the great minds I rely on to build a show, has been anything but lonely. The experience of taking a play meant for the living, breathing space of a theatre and cramming it into a tic-tac-toe of squares (where connection seemed impossible) felt like a futile task. And yet, every single actor, designer, and production team member when asked if they wanted to join us in taking this play to Zoom said yes. In fact, we GAINED a team member.

 

Playwright SP O’Brien has been incredibly generous with his play, Colic. The play is a touching and hilarious take on grief and growing up. In early design meetings when the play was still slated to be a part of the Iowa New Play Festival at the University of Iowa, we talked at length about how to transfer the feel of the quick cut, episodic scenes to the stage so that it felt akin to a graphic novel, jumping from panel to panel. When it became clear the Iowa New Play Festival would be cancelled, SP and I agreed a transfer to Zoom might still work for the play.

 

Directing a play in a Zoom room is quite different from directing a play in a rehearsal room. 

The goal of the project must be clear in order for it to be uprooted from one medium and expected to work in a new one. For Colic, we agreed to focus on the following:

 

1. Play development. As a new play director at Iowa, I’ve worked with many playwrights on new plays, but have not been able to develop a play with a playwright working in the room making significant revisions in the rehearsal process. Moving play development to Zoom was no easy task, but an emphasis on process over production clarified intentions for actors, designers, creative team, and for me.

2. The play is a play, not a Zoom experience. This, I believe, was the most challenging for me. As a director, I want to find the best container to get the information to the audience in the clearest, most creative way. It took some time for me to adjust to directing in Zoom and then took a bit more time for me to avoid the temptation to direct the play FOR Zoom. Colic is structurally episodic and in many ways the cinematic jump-cuts at the ends of scenes or appearance of characters are enhanced by the suddenness of a Zoom entrance. However, sight gag, shared props passed between screens, and the temptation to reference Zoom, while fun at times, turns the project into an experience on Zoom, rather than a play.

3. Stay open to change. When everyone agreed to join the project, I was unsure how we would explore lighting and scenic design on this platform. But, if in these uncertain times, people were willing to put their energy into supporting the development of the play, we would figure out a way to feature them in the project. Lighting Designer, Kim Fain consulted with actors on best lighting options for their at-home set up and came up with creative options for the play-within- the play section of the script. Scenic Designer, Tobin Griffin reimagined the font and texture meant for the walls of the set as a background texture to the transition slides between scenes on Zoom. Neither were ideal but both were necessary for the project of the play in this iteration.

 

In the last two weeks, we’ve really focused on the story, the character arcs, and we’ve taken our time tracking the growth of the characters. We make new discoveries in every rehearsal. In this way, directing in Zoom is no different from being in the room with my creative teams and actors. We have continued our weekly production meetings, our stage manager sends daily calls and nighty reports, and the actors play silly games on the breaks. This process has given me hope that in the midst of the unknown, it is possible to feel truly connected in this time of disconnect. I long to share space and give my actors and creative teams an opening night high five or hug. Yet, in a time of so much loneliness, on this project, I don't feel so alone.